Sometimes you just need to take the day off and I was more than happy to stay in bed and attend the 2015 Smith Leadership Symposium April 20 at MOPA online. This was an all day event and although I missed the networking and the lunch and after session cocktails, I think I picked up some valuable insights.The main theme of this symposium was exploring the new audience and how the museum world could address their interests and needs.
This new
young millennial Patron is curious, engaged, open minded, looking for new
experiences, plugged in because of tech, social, attracted by cool, brand
obsessed, looking for meaning, and discerning. They are active, not passive.
But they are restless and less loyal. We need to meet them where they live and
understand how they feel.
We need to
understand the role and value of culture in their lives. They want
entertainment and enlightenment; they want to be with friends. They also want
enjoyment, enrichment, challenges, aha moments, uses of all senses, and an
enlarged world. They want to be uplifted with unique and profound experiences.
They use culture to escape stress. They even want to support their community.
But they may not want to donate in the tradition way. If we can present the
arts as an opportunity to participate instead of a demand for funds, we can
create a new paradigm.
They attend
events if the cost is right, the subject interests them and if it allows for
social interaction. The don’t go if those things are not present and if it is
inconvenient to get there. Facebook, Utube and Twitter are still the media of
choice. Smart phones and tablets are the devices of choice. Taking and sharing
photos, looking at websites and apps, checking in and commenting on shows are
all activities on the rise. They don’t join or subscribe much, but when they
do, they have to love the institute, it has to offer discounts and the price
has to be right.
Donations
are up for those organizations that make a community impact. The new
audiences see corporate sponsors as just a way for those to get a marketing
benefit but they still admire them for supporting the arts.
Audience
behaviors and expectations are ever changing for all age groups. Leisure time is expanding and new tech
continues to alter the way we interface with the world. How do we embrace this change that is
inevitable? So how do we COPE? My plan is to continue to Collaborate; to
make sure that our Online audience
development continues by constantly introducing innovative social media
experiments; make sure that we include ways for the audience to Participate and have meaningful Experiences at our events and other
interactions.
